bds power point presentation

8/14/2019 BDS Power Point Presentation

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BDS 101US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

www.endtheoccupation.org

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http://www.endtheoccupation.org/http://www.endtheoccupation.org/


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What is BDS?

BDS specifically refers to three things:

Boycott:Form of pressure through non-cooperation. Consumer

actions include academic, cultural, sports, and product boycott.

Divestment: The selling of stocks or bonds from a company profitingfrom unjust practices. This is done by institutional investors like

churches and universities.

Sanctions: Economic and diplomatic restrictions imposed bygovernments against other governments.

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In broader terms, BDS refers to the application of pressure in an effort to change governmentand corporate practices. It is a non-violent tactic employed by a grassroots movement toachieve social justice. In addition to boycott, divestment, and sanctions, it also includes

corporate engagement and morally responsible investment. Despite the narrow economictactic, the goal is to shame human rights violators and shape public opinion.

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Why BDS?

It is moral, effective, and non-violent

BDS is used by a grassroots movement to achieve change whena situation seems intractable at a governmental and political level.

In the face of a formidable Apartheid regime in South Africa, university

students, labor unions, and churches used their economic agency toapply pressure on the Apartheid regime demandingthat it renounce its discriminatory practices and replace them with apolicy of one man, one vote.

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The failure of the Oslo peace

process, the advent of Israeli

unilateralism, and the lack of

protection for Palestinians.

Unwavering United States economicand diplomatic support for Israel

despite its contravention of

international law and universal

principles of human rights law.

Palestinian civil society Call for

Boycott, Divestment, and

Sanctions against Israel until it

complies with international law

and universal principles of human

rights.

It works! Consider the followingquote...

In the case of Palestine and Israel, BDS is a response to:

End the Occupation,Equal Rights for All

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The world-wide movement was effective because it was acoalition of committed governments and peoples movements in the westwhich managed to influence policy at the national level, as well as

institutions like the U.N. We used to say that the degree of unarmed

pressure mobilized against apartheid would determine the degree ofarmed pressure that would be necessary to end it.

* Abdul Minty, the secretary of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement,reflectingon the accomplishments of the movement aimed at ending Apartheid in South Africa.

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How does BDS work?

BDS applies pressure on a target government to change its unjustpolicies by consistently and systematically isolating it

internationally.The most important element of a BDS campaign issustainability. The South African BDS campaign began in the

late 1950s and lasted for nearly 30 years before theSouth African Apartheid regime was forced to end!

How to launch and organize a boycott, divestment and

sanctions campaign....7


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Boycott

Sports

Cultural

Academic

Consumer products

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http://www.endtheoccupation.org/modinput4.php?modin=98http://www.pacbi.org/http://www.pacbi.org/http://www.endtheoccupation.org/modinput4.php?modin=98http://www.endtheoccupation.org/modinput4.php?modin=98http://www.pacbi.org/http://www.pacbi.org/http://www.pacbi.org/http://www.pacbi.org/


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Divestment in 6 stepsIdentify criteria for divestment

Research your institutions

investment portfolio

Draft a petition demandingdivestment

Build a coalition

The LONG HAUL: exert pressure

Celebrate divestment!9


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Sanctions

Target ministers of government, members ofCongress, and lobby them to propose legislation toimpose sanctions.

Sanctions can cut off trade and investments OR

aim at particular investments like arms.They may also suspend or curtail diplomaticrelations.

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Whos engaged in the BDS movement ?

Presbyterian Church (USA)(corporate engagement)

Canadian Union of Public Worker

University of Wisconsin

Anglican Parish, Church of England

Methodist Church

Human Rights Watch

National Lawyers Guild

Green Party USA

Church of Scotland

Palestinian Campaign for the

academic and cultural

boycott of israel

ASN, Dutch Bank

World Council of ChurchesAssociation of University Teachers, UK

Sor-Trondelag, Norway

National Association of Teachers in Further and HigherEducation (NATFHE)

University of California,Berkeley

University of Michigan, Dearborn

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Frequently Asked Questions12


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What are the goals of the BDS campaign?

To build a peaceful, international, grassroots movementin support of equality, peace, & justice

To isolate Israel economically and diplomaticallypressuring Israel to live up to its obligations under international law

To pressure the U.S. government to transform Middle Eastpolicy so that it is based on international law and human rights

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Why is Israel being singled out?

For one thing, it is not--other divestment campaigns include thoseaimed at a genocidal Sudan and a totalitarian Burma.

The existence of other bad regimes does notexcuse Israels behavior. Divestment fromApartheid South Africa was certainly no less

justified because there was repression elsewhere

on the African continent.Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for work against Apartheid.

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Are BDS Campaigns aimed at Israel anti-Semitic?

Absolutely not. BDS campaigns target Israeli, not Jewishproducts.

Accusations of anti-Semitism are poor attempts to distract

from the real problem: Israels Apartheid.

Criticizing Israels policies islegitimate and necessary,

and does not correspond todisparaging Judaism or the

Jewish people.

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Arent Palestinians and Israelis both committing violence?

Although all sides in this conflict havesuffered tremendous loss, the rootcause of the violence is the militaryoccupation and dispossession of a

Palestinian people. Israels occupationand discriminatory policies constitute a

structural and systemic form ofviolence. In order to end the violence,

we must end the occupation.

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We launched a CAT Campaign two years ago and nothing has

happened, now what?

The CAT Campaign is going strong nationally! Still the most important aspect ofa BDS campaign is sustainability and two years may seem like a long time but

it took decades to end apartheid in South Africa. Pick a SINGLE target i.e., citycouncil, church, department store and exert systematic pressure on it.

Our city council has no holdings in suspect corporations, does

that mean that we cant launch a BDS campaign?Not at all. You can still launch and organize a state-wide divestment campaignand/or a consumer product boycott campaign.

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Thanks to . . .

Global Exchange

Omar Barghouti, Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and CulturalBoycott of Israel

Nancy Murray, Boston Coalition for Palestinian RightsDavid Wildman, US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

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Happyslave

NiceMaster

The danger of advocating a change in theconsciousness of the oppressed, not thesituation which oppresses them.Simone de Beauvoir

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